7 steps to a successful meeting

In a professional working environment, attending meetings is seen as a necessary evil at best. At worst, meetings are considered a useless and time-wasting activity which obstructs real work. Interestingly, those highly capable and results-orientated often struggle most with meetings; they feel they must adapt to the slower, less efficient pace of others.

Yet frustration with meetings is a curious phenomenon as collective discussion and decision-making is an integral part of all organisations, small or large. This frustration attached with meetings, and the perceived inefficient colleagues who attend, highlights something more concerning. It highlights the ever-present ability of individuals to apportion blame of faults and failure elsewhere rather than themselves. Blame is projected outwards and is not necessarily reflective.

Let’s have a look at what you can do to make your own meetings more effective with a few simple shifts of attitude, behaviour and processes.

1. Do something different

Many meetings I attend feel very tired and mechanical at times. Door opens, coworkers adopt their usual chair, laptops are opened. People pay mixed levels of attention to an agenda and there is a predictable exchange of opinions; it is the same people talking in the same old way. I believe to cultivate creative energy and flowing ideas, it must help to change the timing, the location and the process of discussion.

I’m always reminded of sitting in a Lisbon office in June and watching, mystified, the sheer number of people wandering around the car park in clusters. On enquiry, I learned that this was the nature of meetings in Lisbon. Meetings are informal and creative, relationship-orientated and task focused, an opportunity to clear the mind and stimulate the body after lunch. For your next meeting, consider some ways to spice it up. It will be time well spent.

2. Don’t assume face-to-face is better

There’s a common assumption that face-to-face meetings work better than virtual meetings, particularly those set up as a telephone conference. This false assumption derives from the Media Richness Theory of 1950s; the assumption was made that electronic communication results in poorer exchange of ideas than face-to-face interaction. Yet research into virtual teams indicates that in the correct circumstances people can perform excellently in such meetings. Factors contributing to success are: clear agendas, clear tasks, solid relationships developed, well-timed meetings and an effective facilitator.

Also, there are factors that can make face-to-face meetings less efficient; travelling to and from meetings, the need to engage in small talk and the ability to talk across or interrupt people around the table. With these elements in mind, maybe it’s time to rebalance your meeting location.

3. Prepare the necessary data

One of the most common complaints about meetings is their tendency to create a pretext for secondary meetings. Discussions frequently arise which require further meetings; this can be due to a lack of data or the relevant authority to make the necessary decision. Good discipline in agenda setting will result in specific topics postponed until appropriate information/people are present, or the clarification that the meeting will be an exploration of the steps needed to enable a final decision. This distinction is crucial and allows expectations to be set clearly and discussions to be managed more effectively.

4. Align in advance

Diversity brings both opportunities and challenges to the conduct of a successful meeting. Differences in perspective and communication style can challenge the ability of the facilitator to keep a meeting streamlined.

Differences can especially magnify when discussion topics touch upon any existing politics between headquarter and local operations.

In order to avoid destructive levels of diversity, facilitators should do some pre-meeting networking on a one-to-one level. This will enable them to map different levels of knowledge and opinions towards a potentially controversial topic. By pre-negotiating how/which things will be discussed, and which outcomes can/ cannot be reached, a smoother more effective meeting can occur.

5. Use problem solving discipline

Communicating effectively and speaking are two entirely different activities. Unfortunately people tend to speak their own mind in meetings rather than communicate for the greater good. For meetings to be effective, discipline is needed. Disciplined communicators firstly listen effectively in order to understand others’ opinions and why they possess this perspective.

Secondly, communicators provide inputs — not simply opinions. They identify the underlying issues which have provoked discussion, and can suggest resolutions to these issues. In your next meeting, postpone defending your personal beliefs and instead be the facilitator. Be the communicator as opposed to the speaker. See what happens.

6. Be realistic

If decisions are made in meetings which are not then implemented, a belief in the relevance of meetings can decline. This lack of execution can be for a number of reasons; most likely is that heavy workloads undermine people’s ability to act upon discussed strategies. Today’s workload burdens are very heavy. A smart meeting will consider this and focus upon realistic decisions with workable timelines. Take time to reflect on the decisions being made in your meetings: are they the right decisions; was the schedule realistic; was the right person responsible; did events occur to undermine the decision? Use these reflective questions to create more realistic meetings with achievable outcomes.

7. Create a learning cycle

This final point is linked closely with the previous point. Groups must reflect regularly on their decision making in meetings and provide robust and honest feedback. Groups should explore how prepared they were for the meeting; who spoke too much or little; how creative the discussion was; whether the appropriate decisions were made; how much respect was shown by individuals to each other. Exploring these questions will highlight to each group which aspects of their collaboration they must monitor.

In business, too much time is spent communicating about business and not enough is spent focusing upon abilities to communicate. I believe that if more time were spent on communication, both business and meetings would be more successful.